Pureora to Rotorua

After the Timbertrail, we left the cabin early, heading for the highway to make Mangakino by mid afternoon and a welcome rest from cycling, after 7 consecutive days in the saddle.

We rode in the morning sunshine along the short gravel road to the highway. Tarmac and downhill trend for the rest of the day meant we ate up the miles. The rolling landscape afforded views of the distant hills as we passed firstly through close forest, which opened up into rolling hills. Looking back, it was quite satisfying to see Pureora Forest and Mt. Pureora in the distance, where, the day before, we had cycled up, around and down from, on our memorable Timber Trail experience.
We arrived in Mangakino around 12:30, in time for lunch and decided to stop as we passed a nice looking cafe, Ata’s Bar and Eatery, which had tables outside. We sat and ate in the warmth of the sun!

Our mood was up and for once we would be arriving early at our digs. We’d booked a room in a new hostel (shared bathroom and kitchen). As it turned out, no-one else was staying, so we had it all to ourselves! After checking in, we caught up on a few chores and then settled down in the communal lounge to plan the following days, enjoying the afternoon sun which made the room cosy and warm, followed by dinner and a film on a TV. What a treat.

The following day was a fairly relaxing one, some admin and visit to the local shop to get supplies for our journey onward. The evening highlight for Lilz was watching the British & Irish Lions Test rugby against the Wallabies resulting in a late bed time as the NZ kick off time was 11pm!

Heading off early the following day after Amanda’s Facetime catch up with her mum and sisters, we joined the Waikato River Trail at the Whakamaru Dam and followed the trail along the Lake and reserve, to Durham’s Point. Negotiating the winding, lumpy track and motorbike prevention barriers (badly designed) led to slow progress on laden bikes, and a bit tedious - so much so that we ended up re-joining the highway for the 10 miles to Atiamuri Dam. After a short horrible plod along the shoulder of Highway 1, we thankfully turned off onto a backroad through rolling farm land, that kindly provided us a 7 mile climb with great views over green pastures. A challenging gravel section with large loose horrible stones followed until relief after a couple of miles when the good old tarmac returned. Not too far now until the road brought us to our campsite and geothermal springs at Waikite Valley Hot Pools as the sun was setting.

After a longish day - almost 50 miles - we were looking forward to soaking our bones (our tent pitch allowed us free entry to the pools)! Clouds of steam billowed as we set up the tent. We grabbed our cosies and headed for a dip in several of the hot pools, starting with the cooler 37 degree plunge and then onto the slightly hotter. Total bliss after cycling and eased the aches and sore muscles. Steam rose in the cold night air, ethereal, illuminated by the lights and swirling around the palms and ferns.

We awoke ready for a short day of twenty odd miles, diverting to ‘Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland’ before making for Rotorua.
The geothermal wonderland is the result of thousand of years of volcanic activity that has made a landscape of hot springs, steaming craters, hissing fissures and bubbling mud. The overwhelming pungent smell of sulphur was evident and the earth was pockmarked with yellow, red and orange pigments of the oxidised minerals. We wandered around the looped trails for a couple of hours taking in the strange sights and otherworldly ambience of the geothermal area thought to be created by a large eruption about 900 years ago.

A highlight was witnessing the Lady Knox Geyser erupt. Discovered by prisoners clearing the native bush for forestry, the geyser’s natural cycle occurs irregularly, so the staff feed it soap to induce an eruption - a chemical reaction that breaks the ‘seal’ and forces it to blow on demand. Sort of cheating but means the tour groups are satisfied with a guaranteed spectacle!

Another treat was the Champagne Pool. Steam created by the hot water meeting the cold air clouded the pool but as the wind changed and steam drifted, the vibrant colours revealed themselves. The Champagne Pool is a large hot water pool filling a 700-year-old crater at a temperature of 230 degrees C, before cooling toward the surface to a balmy 74’C! It bubbles (like Champagne) due to the Carbon Dioxide gas. The orange rim around the edge of the Champagne Pool contains the minerals arsenic and antimony sulphur.

We returned to the bikes and set off on the final leg up and over the caldera lip into Rotorua. A case of getting ‘from A to B’, we rode along the busy highway - which was unpleasant due to dubious driving by some. We had no choice for an alternate route and had to suck it up for several miles and were happy when a cycle path ‘appeared’ for a local trail which led us right into town and the neighbourhood where we were staying. We arrived at our accommodation tired but looking forward to the couple of nights stay and hope to avoid the heavy rain and wind that was forecast for the following days.
We planned to stay inside to catch up with a few of the usual admin tasks and we booked a mud spa experience at Hells Gate. Hell’s Gate lies out of town and in a geothermal area. It has walking trails, hot pools and bubbling mud. We caught the free shuttle from town out to the park.

Aotearoa’s only mud bath experience, it was once bathed in by Māori warriors. The mud and waters have soothed bodies for hundreds of years. The nutrient-rich water relaxes the body, and mud gently provides exfoliation for the skin. We dipped into the sulphur pool and slathered the thick grey (and smelly) mud onto our torsos. What made the experience more memorable was that the pools, outdoors and partly covered by a mesh to protect from the sun were being battered by the wet and windy weather. The day we visited the weather was terrible. It was blowing with gusty winds, and squalls of rain pouring down. After our 20 mins allowed in the sulphur, we withdrew to the hot pools for a soak under the warm waterfall and then a plunge into the cold pool (and back into the warm). Our bodies felt rejuvenated and fresh, although we were to discover that the smell of sulphur lingers for many days, as it slowly exits the pores of the skin (which left our clothes with a slight eggy smell ), adding to the other bike related odours - making for a fragrant mix!
Getting back to the cottage, we whacked the fire on whilst the rain continued, hoping for better weather the following day, to cycle north to Matamata, to visit ‘The Shire’!Leggi altro